The Advanced Air Mobility Institute (AAM) has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Economic Expansion Committee of Val d’Oise (CEEVO) to collaborate on advancing the sustainable urban air mobility sector in France.
The partnership aims to leverage the expertise and resources of both organisations to drive innovation, public acceptance and regulatory advancements in the field.
The two organisations will focus on developing policy frameworks at the Pontoise-Cormeilles-en-Vexin airport with CEEVO aiming to position the region as a leader in advanced transportation solutions.
The Île-de-France Region, Choose Paris Region, RATP Group, and Groupe ADP launched an initiative in Europe on 01 October 2020, to promote the French sustainable urban air mobility (UAM) sector.
The initiative attracted 150 applications from 25 countries, focusing on vehicle development, urban infrastructure, operations, airspace integration, and public acceptability.
Jean-François Benon, managing director of CEEVO, said: “This agreement will be one of the vectors for facilitating knowledge exchange between CEEVO, the Val d’Oise Economic Development Agency, Paris region and Advanced Air Mobility Institute, by exploring use cases and sharing technological expertise to foster the air mobility decarbonisation on local and global scale, and better anticipate tomorrow’s challenges.”
CEEVO will collaborate with the likes of Airbus, EHang and Safran Electronics & Defence to develop vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, while Skyports and Green Motion have also partnered to create vertiports and charging systems.
Working alongside Air France and CAE, the group is involved with the integration and maintenance of future UAM systems.
Drone company Skyports and Green Motion have also partnered to create vertiports and charging systems. By working with Air France and CAE, they ensure seamless integration and maintenance of UAM systems.
CEEVO will also collaborate with ENAC and Thales SIX on the advancement of air traffic management systems, partnering with UC Berkeley and École Polytechnique to research solutions for social and environmental challenges.
The first public flight demonstration of an eVTOL aircraft in France was made by Volocopter in June 2021.
That same year, Volocopter’s VoloCity air taxi then took off for its first flight in a European city in September, flying over Stuttgart, Germany.
AAM founder and president Dan Sloat said: “French aviation pioneers contributed substantially to the progress of powered flight in the early 1900s so it’s only natural that France has taken a strong leadership role in this new era of electrification.
“CEEVO is a welcome partner in the greater Paris region as economic development is essential to our mission of broad public benefit and public acceptance of AAM.”
Achievements and innovations in urban air mobility will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
